Podcasts · Society & Culture · TV & Film

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Higher Ground

300 episodes · Explicit

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso is a weekly series of intimate conversations with artists, authors, and politicians. Where people sound like people. Hosted by Sam Fragoso. New episodes every Sunday.

Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. Novelist Min Jin Lee (‘Pachinko’) Has Something to Teach Us

    · 1 h 29 min

    “The rules of engagement have changed already.” Novelist Min Jin Lee (Pachinko) is a beacon of wit and wisdom. She returns to the show this week with American Hagwon, the long-awaited third installment in her Korean…

  2. Jason Sudeikis (‘Ted Lasso’) Still Believes

    · 1 h 36 min

    Jason Sudeikis became a household name during his decade-long run on Saturday Night Live. Then, came his Emmy-winning turn in Ted Lasso. On the heels of the beloved series’ Season 4 finale, we discuss this latest…

  3. Author Michael Lewis (‘The Big Short’) Pulls Back the Curtain

    · 1 h 30 min · Explicit

    “The Trump administration was betting that if they broke the law fast enough,” writes Michael Lewis, “the law would never catch up to them.” On the heels of his new book, Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State, the…

  4. Author Isabel Allende: A Life of Storytelling

    · 1 h 18 min

    Isabel Allende (The House of the Spirits, Paula) is one of the most widely-read authors in the world, alternating gracefully between the political and personal on the page for over forty years. We sat with Allende in…

  5. The Christiane Amanpour Interview

    · 1 h 24 min

    Christiane Amanpour is the host of CNN's award-winning flagship global program “Amanpour,” where she’s been one of the network's most trusted voices on foreign affairs since 1983. She joins us this week from New York…

  6. Former Obama National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes: “It’s Time to Let the Illusions Die”

    · 1 h 30 min · Explicit

    For eight years, Ben Rhodes worked as a speechwriter and Deputy National Security Adviser to President Barack Obama. A decade after leaving the White House, Rhodes has become increasingly critical of the foreign policy…

  7. Can We Avoid AI Catastrophe? (with Tech Ethicist Tristan Harris)

    · 1 h 29 min · Explicit

    “I get calls from people inside of some of the AI labs,” says technology ethicist Tristan Harris. “And it feels like getting a call from Robert Oppenheimer before the atomic bomb.” Harris (a former Google insider and…

  8. It’s Time to Give Nick Offerman (‘Parks and Recreation’) His Flowers

    · 1 h 16 min

    These days Nick Offerman appears to be one of the few remaining men who enjoys “making things rather than destroying things.” Career-best performances, best-selling books, a wooden, cedar-strip canoe built out of his…

  9. Play It Again: Gloria Steinem

    · 1 h 03 min

    Rest in peace to writer and activist Gloria Steinem. The trajectory of Steinem’s life and work was unparalleled. Her cultural and political impact, incalculable. We sat to discuss the life-altering procedure she had…

  10. The Fall Movie Preview (with Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins of ‘The Big Picture’)

    · 1 h 58 min

    With the fall movie season upon us, who better to sit with than The Big Picture co-hosts Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins? We begin with a post-vacation check-in (2:38), the god-given gifts of Ben Affleck and Jacob…

  11. In ‘The Good Place’ with D’Arcy Carden

    · 1 h 19 min · Explicit

    From “The Good Place” and “Barry” to “A League of Their Own” and “The Five-Star Weekend,” D’Arcy Carden has become one of the most recognizable and beloved performers on television. We sit to discuss her Bay Area…

  12. Novelist Colson Whitehead’s New York State of Mind

    · 1 h 06 min

    Novelist Colson Whitehead is one of only a handful of writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice—first for The Underground Railroad in 2017, and again for The Nickel Boys in 2020. He joins us on the heels of…

  13. The ‘Past Lives’ of Actor Greta Lee

    · 1 h 13 min

    What if it’s true that good things come to those who wait? For Greta Lee, the success of Past Lives came after twenty years of working and finding her way as an actor. Her latest, leading turns come in The Last House…

  14. Samin Nosrat (‘Salt Fat Acid Heat’) Cooks These ‘Good Things’ at Home

    · 1 h 24 min

    Nine years ago, cook and writer Samin Nosrat created a kitchen staple with Salt Fat Acid Heat: a New York Times bestseller that later became a hit Netflix series. Last fall, Nosrat returned with Good Things, a…

  15. Comedian Mary Beth Barone’s Brilliant ‘Galaxy Brain’

    · 1 h 17 min

    Two years ago Mary Beth Barone considered quitting stand-up comedy. Thankfully (for us) these were always “empty threats.” The kinds you make when you’re working and waiting for your break, or, in her case, a Netflix…

  16. Actor Timothy Olyphant (‘Justified’) is Riding High

    · 1 h 19 min

    Timothy Olyphant has made a career out of masking the effort behind his effortless performances. He joins us on the heels of his recent turns in Lucky and The Five-Star Weekend. We talk about performing opposite Anya…

  17. The Gilded Presidency of Donald Trump with NYT Reporter Maggie Haberman (‘Regime Change’)

    · 1 h 33 min · Explicit

    All that glitters is not gold. Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent for The New York Times who’s been covering Donald Trump for nearly three decades. Her extraordinary level of access in and around the Oval…

  18. Danny McBride’s Delusions of Grandeur

    · 1 h 12 min

    From Kenny Powers (“Eastbound & Down”) to Jesse Gemstone (“The Righteous Gemstones”), Danny McBride has created some of the most vain, quintessentially American portraits of male dysfunction in recent memory. His debut…

  19. A New Generation Has Arrived in LA Politics. Is Nithya Raman Ready to Lead It?

    · 1 h 09 min

    Councilmember Nithya Raman says she’s running for mayor “to make LA affordable for everyone.” She joins us this week in her first extended sit-down since edging out Spencer Pratt in the recent mayoral primary. We…

  20. Father’s Day with Tom Hanks

    · 1 h 00 min

    Tom Hanks is one of the defining actors of the last half-century. Today, we return to one of our favorite conversations with the beloved performer and writer. We begin by discussing his debut novel, The Making of…

  21. The Jagged Little Pieces of Singer-Songwriter Alanis Morissette

    · 1 h 12 min

    Alanis Morissette’s 1995 chart-topping album “Jagged Little Pill” didn’t just describe a generation; it defined it. “I will take angry as the first note in the music,” she tells us. “I just think every woman I knew was…

  22. Sam Interviews Nathan Lane on ‘Fresh Air’

    · 43 min

    In celebration of the Tony Awards, Sam’s conversation on ‘Fresh Air’ with the legendary Nathan Lane. At the time of recording, Lane had just received a nomination for his starring role as Willy Loman in ‘Arthur…

  23. Tony Nominee Christopher Abbott (‘Death of a Salesman’) Takes Center Stage

    · 1 h 16 min

    Christopher Abbott is one of the finest actors of his generation. He joins us this week from the Winter Garden Theatre, where he plays Biff Loman in the latest Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman opposite Nathan…

  24. Is Josh Johnson (‘The Daily Show’) the 21st Century Comedian?

    · 1 h 01 min

    Emmy-nominated writer and stand-up Josh Johnson is making comedy that’s timely and timeless. On the heels of his new HBO special Symphony, we begin with his creative process of shaping new material week after week,…

  25. The Michelle Obama Interview

    · 1 h 24 min

    Michelle Obama is the former First Lady of the United States, a bestselling author of books like Becoming and The Look, the co-founder of Higher Ground, and now, a host alongside her older brother Craig Robinson on…

  26. Mother’s Day with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

    · 53 min

    Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld, Veep) is a national treasure with more primetime Emmys than any performer in the history of television. Then there’s her latest decade in film: two collaborations with Nicole Holofcener…

  27. Actor Riz Ahmed Remakes the Leading Man

    · 1 h 21 min

    For the better part of two decades, Emmy and Oscar-winning actor Riz Ahmed has moved seamlessly between worlds: indies, blockbusters, prestige TV, writing, rapping. We discuss the long road to his new TV series Bait…

  28. Showrunner Lee Sung Jin is Back with More ‘Beef’

    · 1 h 29 min

    Since the arrival of Beef in 2023, showrunner and creator Lee Sung Jin has been hailed as “the preeminent social satirist” working in television. The Emmy-winning writer/director joins us around the anthology’s return…

  29. Play It Again: Actor Oscar Isaac

    · 52 min

    On the heels of Beef S2, we're revisiting a favorite of ours with actor Oscar Isaac. We begin with his 2023 Broadway debut in The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window (5:10), the play's timeless writing (6:55), and the…

  30. Are We Witnessing Podcaster Chris Ryan’s Apex Mountain?

    · 1 h 27 min

    Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. On the heels of CR month coming to a close on The Rewatchables, we’re joined this week by The Ringer’s beloved editorial director, Chris Ryan. He’s been hailed…

  31. Talk Easy Turns 10 (with Terry Gross)

    · 1 h 46 min

    To mark the beginning of Talk Easy’s 10-year anniversary, Sam called up Terry Gross. Watch this episode on YouTube. Then, we turn to their conversation from Philadelphia last fall. They discuss Terry’s half century…

  32. The AI Conversation We Need to Have (with Tristan Harris)

    · 1 h 24 min

    “I got calls from people inside of some of the AI labs,” says technology ethicist Tristan Harris. “And it felt like getting a call from Robert Oppenheimer before the atomic bomb.” Harris (a former Google insider and…

  33. Is Governor Josh Shapiro the Future of America?

    · 1 h 28 min

    A year after the attack on the Governor’s residence, Josh Shapiro says he and his family are “not afraid.” Their spirit, not broken but strengthened by the firebombing. Watch this conversation on YouTube We begin…

  34. Oscar Sunday with Filmmaker Joachim Trier (‘Sentimental Value’)

    · 1 h 05 min · Explicit

    To celebrate Oscar Sunday, we return to our talk with writer-director Joachim Trier! We begin with guiding words from writer Philip Roth (7:20), how Trier arrived at his intimate new film Sentimental Value (8:40), and…

  35. Play It Again: Actor Rose Byrne is a Woman on the Verge

    · 51 min

    Rose Byrne has taken many forms on-screen. In Mary Bronstein’s film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, she delivers a career-defining performance as a Long Island therapist and mother slowly unraveling under the weight of her…

  36. Ryan Coogler Made the Movie of the Year. Now He’s Making Oscars History.

    · 54 min

    When it comes to the theatrical experience, director Ryan Coogler is in rarified air these days. From Creed to Black Panther to Wakanda Forever, his movies arrive as seismic commercial and cultural events. His latest,…

  37. State of the Union with Journalist Jacob Soboroff

    · 1 h 17 min

    Journalist and author Jacob Soboroff (MS Now) has spent the better part of a decade reporting from inside America’s fractured immigration system. He joins us this week, fresh off the plane from Minneapolis, where he’s…

  38. The Makings of Musician Anderson .Paak

    · 1 h 24 min · Explicit

    Musician Anderson .Paak has always marched to the beat of his own drum. Whether he’s on the church circuit in Oxnard, center stage at the Grammys, or as one half of groups like NxWorries and Silk Sonic, Anderson is…

  39. This Is America with George Saunders

    · 1 h 23 min

    George Saunders has long been hailed as one of the great short story writers of our time. Of his 1996 debut CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, Zadie Smith called Saunders “a prophecy and the voice of the American berserk.”…

  40. Play It Again: Ramy Youssef Tells a Muslim American Story

    · 49 min

    Today, we revisit our 2023 conversation with performer and director Ramy Youssef, one of the singular voices of the past decade. We begin with his reflections on Ramadan, before diving into the third season of his…

  41. Is Will Arnett Nailing This Interview?

    · 1 h 06 min · Explicit

    From BoJack to Batman, Will Arnett has made a name for himself with his signature baritone voice. This week the beloved ‘SmartLess’ co-host joins us to talk easy. Watch this conversation on YouTube. We begin with his…

  42. This is Patti Smith

    · 1 h 20 min

    Patti Smith has been hailed as the Godmother of Punk, the people’s poet, a defining voice of her generation. She’s been inducted into the Rock & Roll of Fame. She won a National Book Award for her memoir, Just Kids.…

  43. The Return of Gwyneth Paltrow (‘Marty Supreme’)

    · 1 h 08 min · Explicit

    Gwyneth Paltrow, now and forever, reigns supreme. Watch this conversation on YouTube. We discuss her return to acting in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme (7:45), the personal parallels that shaped her portrayal of 1930s…

  44. Viola Davis: What If We’re Enough?

    · 1 h 10 min · Explicit

    Before Viola Davis (How to Get Away with Murder) became an EGOT-winning actor, she was an observer. Her work takes the human experience and transmutes it, offering a mirror and a window into ourselves. You can watch…

  45. Is Comedian Robby Hoffman the Last American Dream?

    · 1 h 15 min · Explicit

    We’re closing out 2025 with the person who made us laugh the most this year: comedian Robby Hoffman. [You can watch this conversation on YouTube.] At the top, we unpack the joys of her new Netflix special Wake Up…

  46. Kate Winslet Is Home for the Holidays

    · 1 h 18 min

    For over thirty years, Kate Winslet has been one of the most beloved performers on screen. We discuss her directorial debut in Goodbye June (5:00), the loss that inspired this personal screenplay (10:00), and how her…

  47. The New Yorker at 100 (with David Remnick)

    · 1 h 38 min · Explicit

    In the first 100 years of The New Yorker, only five have edited the magazine. Since 1998, it’s been David Remnick at the helm, shepherding the publication into the 21st century. We discuss Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral win…

  48. Renate Reinsve Delivers the Performance of the Year in ‘Sentimental Value’

    · 55 min

    What happens when a house is not a home? It's the question pulsating at the heart of the new film, Sentimental Value, and one that actor Renate Reinsve reckons with in the lead role of Nora. We discuss her process…

  49. Filmmaker Joachim Trier’s ‘Sentimental’ Family Affair

    · 1 h 03 min

    Following the success of The Worst Person in the World, writer-director Joachim Trier returns this fall with a candid family story in Sentimental Value. We begin with the guiding words from writer Philip Roth (7:20),…

  50. The Noah Baumbach Retrospective

    · 1 h 14 min

    Filmmaker Noah Baumbach has spent the past three decades transmuting his experiences into cinema, culminating in his latest film, Jay Kelly, his love letter to movies (and the memories they evoke). We begin with the…

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.